A question for the old school

Inverted.

@dave-lindell

Thought it probably would be. Thanks for confirming.

Almost tricked me.?ÿ The early Wild?ÿT-2s?ÿwere inverted image but later versions were erect.?ÿ I used both extensively and although the inverted image took getting used to it was noticeably sharper than the erect optics.

@mike-marks?ÿ Well yeah, one fewer lens. The T- family were wonderful instruments but GPS is so much better.

@mike-marks?ÿ

It was freaky to look at an inverted image when using a Wild T-2. My boss said your brain will eventually flip the image right side up. Normally our brain receives an inverted image from our eyes and flips it. I remember a diagram from a book illustrating that.

@mike-marks

but GPS is so much better.

?ÿ

Only so long as the birds are flying and the batteries last.

I'm thinking I might want a pure optical instrument and to practice my star and solar obs...

Golly, I must not be as old as I feel.?ÿ Have no idea how to answer the question from personal experience.

@bruce-small?ÿ

Depends what you want to do!

I still have two T2s, one inverted and one right way up. The older inverted one doesn''t have an auto-compensator on the vertical circle so very occasionally that can be useful.

Nowadays they probabaly only go out every few years, but when they do the income generated from the one outing is more than I paid for each originally; it costs nothing to keep them in the store.

Posted by: @chris-mills

I still have two T2s, one inverted and one right way up. The older inverted one doesn''t have an auto-compensator on the vertical circle so very occasionally that can be useful.

Yah, the old split bubble vertical circle leveler was the finickiest adjustment done when observing.?ÿ The auto-compensator was quite an advancement.

The only T-3 I ever looked through was inverted, I would be surprised if Wild ever made an upright T-3 (but there is much more that I DON'T know, than there is that I do know). My T-2 is an inverted (split bubble) model, as were all of the T-1s, T-2s, DKM-2s, and DKM-1s that I ever used. In fact, I think that the T-0 that I used in the early 80s was inverted as well (or not, it was a long time ago). I saw a T-4 @ NGS HQ in Silver Spring once, but didn't look through it (pretty sure it was inverted image though). John Nolton should chime in, he knows a lot about such things.

View through a T-3.

?ÿ

Uhmmmmm There were T-1 and T-1A same with T-3 and T-3A not all were inverted. We had both inverted and non inverted in the USMC. ?ÿ T-2 I canƒ??t remember if the had a T-2A. But I donƒ??t know if I could read the scales anymore. I have a tough time reading the darn key pads on the data collectors these days. ?ÿR B P K all look the same. ?ÿ?????ÿ

I have a crisp T1 that is upright image and spent years wrapping angles with upright T-2's. I'm all but certain there were both varieties from 1 through 3.

Yeah, I have seen a lot of "upright" T-1s and T-2s, but never used one. using an inverted image instrument takes a little getting used to, but it doesn't really take a lot of time before you get the hang of it.

In any case, even "cheap" theodolites" beat the crap out of the BB-Gun scopes on the HP-3810s ?????ÿ

@rod : not very good focus on the cross hairs!

Posted by: @dave-lindell

@rod : not very good focus on the cross hairs!

I was thinking that too...

?ÿ

Crap.?ÿ Guess I'm "Old School" now; even with my boyish good looks intact.?ÿ

Posted by: @mike-marks

Posted by: @chris-mills

I still have two T2s, one inverted and one right way up. The older inverted one doesn''t have an auto-compensator on the vertical circle so very occasionally that can be useful.

Yah, the old split bubble vertical circle leveler was the finickiest adjustment done when observing.?ÿ The auto-compensator was quite an advancement.

Advancement for some things! The split bubble instrument comes into its own when you are trying to measure deflections whilst set on a heaving object (such as a ship deck) as you can lock off the vertical screw adjustment to the split bubble and just use the HA and VA to measure against what is then a "fixed" plane.

?ÿ

Posted by: @dave-lindell

@rod : not very good focus on the cross hairs!

Ermm! That's what might be called trying to split hairs (sorry!)